g-boaf wrote:Surely it is possible for the customer to avoid dealer and go directly to Garmin? For my cameras, I don't deal with the dealer, but directly with the manufacturer for repairs and the like. That at least cuts out dealing with undesirable dealers (I'm not making any refererence

With Garmin, that is definitely an option. Given Garmin are a PITA to deal with directly, I would hate to include another link in the chain and include the retailer. unless the retailer is top notch, it could just add further delays/poor advice/crap into the process....

im_no_pro wrote:Depends on what warranty you are talking about. Your statutory warranty (ACL) is between consumer & retailer and has absolutely zero to do with manufacturer/wholesaler/distributor/etc. Under ACL the retailer cannot refuse to deal with it and palm you off to their supplier. Manufacturer warranties are always in addition to the statutory warranty and often have little to nothing to do with the retailer. Although any half decent retailer should offer to liaise with the manufacturer on your behalf, they are not legally obliged to. The provision of such warranties is referred to in ACL, but only to point out that it cannot exclude any rights you have under statutory warranty.

It depends what you are talking about. My tv is too big and heavy to move easily, so the warranty service is provided on site by the manufacturer. If I wanted to, I could ask the retailer to call the manufacturer to call me to arrange a time for a service tech to visit... but it seems easier to liaise directly with the manufacturer. It's not that the retailer is palming me off on the manufacturer, it's a matter of practicality and what is easier for the customer.

However, if I did have an issue with the warranty and wasn't happy, that's where I would ask the retailer to intervene on my behalf. In fact, when I first raised the warranty issue, the retailer gave me the service number to call but told me if I wasn't happy with the outcome to let them know.

JulMass wrote:Anyone who has a problem with goods bought in Australia needs to visit the ACCC website for info on their rights as consumers under the Australian Consumer Law. Businesses are required to provide a refund if goods tank and not send you off to the manufacturer. Unfortunately a lot of small businesses still don't know about the ACL or how to deal with consumers complaints properly. Its there in black & white. Don't accept that the manufacturer has to decide if it is faulty. If it dies then you choose a refund or replacement. Pretty simple really.

Not entirely correct, e.g. You only have the right to replace in the even of a major fault, otherwise the retailer has the right to repair the unit. Dont hold me to the actual wording, but there is more to it than you have specified, and its far from simple.

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Sure is more to it than I set out. My point wa to raise awareness of the existence of the ACL and to try to get people to realize that most sellers will make it harder to assert their rights. But who has the money to spend on getting a lawyer to analyze the problem. One of the drawbacks of the ACL is precisely defini ng the difference between a major and minor fault. I doubt very much that a Court will be given the opportunity to do so soon. ACCC is more interested in pinging energy retailers than the niceties of major and minor faults.

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